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Three-point Barrage Lifts Tigers Past Evansville, 78-34
By R.J. Layton
Columbia, Mo.- Hot
shooting from beyond the arc propelled the Missouri Women's basketball
team to a 78-43 win over the Evansville Purple Aces on Thursday at
Mizzou Arena. The victory is the Tigers third straight to start the
season.
A heavy dose of Bri Kulas in the opening minutes helped
Missouri grab an early 11-7 lead. The senior captain scored nine of the
team's first 11 points. After drilling a contested three-pointer, she
blocked a shot on the ensuing defensive possession. From then on,
Evansville began double-teaming Kulas, allowing her to dish to fellow
forward Jordan Frericks for an easy lay-up.
With so much
attention being focused on the post, Missouri's sharpshooters found
open looks from long range. Morgan Stock buried two quick
three-pointers off the bench and Tania Jackson nailed her first trey
ball of the season to give the Tigers a 21-9 advantage with 12 minutes
left in the first half.
Mizzou poured in 15 total three-pointers
and rode 45-percent shooting from the field to sustain its lead
throughout the game. Seven different Tigers made a shot from beyond the
arc. Freshman Sierra Michaelis got in on the action in the second half.
Her back-to-back long balls with 11 minutes to go handed Missouri a
27-point lead. She finished with a career-high 10 points.
Stock
tallied 15 points behind five three-pointers, matching her performance
from Sunday's win over SIUE. Missouri's bench contributed 43 points,
good for more than half of the team's total.
Despite the
efficient shooting from the Tiger guards, the post players led the way
in scoring. Frericks earned her first career double-double with 13
points and 11 rebounds. Kulas added a team-high 16 points.
Missouri remains undefeated, moving to 3-0 on the season.
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